Judas Priest’s Rob Halford made a new statement about Glenn Tipton’s future with the band.
Earlier, Halford was asked about the possibility of Tipton’s involvement in the band in the upcoming shows. As a response, he mentioned that it wasn’t clear whether or not he would join.
More recently, the frontman clarified his comment in a new interview with Metal Hammer. He said:
“It was just beautiful when he came out and the audience went, ‘Glenn!’ He’s such a hero and he received so much love and respect, as he deserves, because he’s one of the greatest ever metal guitar players that’s lived. There is no other guitar player like Glenn Tipton. That was a special moment for Glenn. It was almost like a complete cycle because – I won’t say this with my hand on my heart – but there’s a possibility that was the last time that you saw Glenn play live.”
Since this interview, Tipton appeared in two shows on the band’s UK tour.
What Did Halford Say Earlier?
Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over ten years ago, but he had symptoms for about five years before that. In early 2018, he decided to take a break from touring with Priest for their ‘Firepower’ LP. The album’s producer Andy Sneap stepped in for him.
In the earlier chat with The Guardian, the singer was asked about his bandmate and whether he would join the upcoming tour. However, instead of talking about his role in the tour, Halford gave an update on how Tipton has been doing:
“He’s doing extraordinarily well considering that he’s been living with Parkinson’s for 15 years. He’s such a strong man. It’s like any of these challenges, a lot of it is borne by how you fight back, and he fights back all the time. I love that people still understand his importance in Judas Priest – his input on this new album, ‘Invincible Shield,’ is as it has been on all the records. Glenn and Ozzy [Osbourne] keep in touch. They’re both cut from the same cloth with that British ‘get on with it’ type of thing. I don’t mean to speak against other identities but there’s this thing about blokes and dignity, an extremely powerful word in what it represents – my dad was the same – and they are really strong in battling on.”
Before those recent shows, the band had Tipton back at the Power Trip festival last year on October 7th. Tipton joined Priest for the encore, and together they played ‘Metal Gods,’ ‘Breaking The Law,’ and ‘Living After Midnight.’ Before their set, they played Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ as the intro, and then they showed off their latest album, ‘Invincible Shield,’ on the video screens.